Rise of the Living Forge-Chapter 384: Thing

Caldera thrummed in Olive’s hands. Waves of heat rolled off the massive hammer and drove into her like physical blows. Everyone, both the Blackguard and Phoenix Circle, had frozen in a brief moment of surprise as every eye in the arena turned to Olive.

And for a fraction of a second, her thoughts danced back to when Arwin had first given her the armor she now wore. He’d explained that Soul Weapons were something more than just normal equipment. Calling them equipment at all had been a misnomer.

They were an extension of the one they had been made from — the one they had been made for. Arwin had made absolutely clear that Olive knew to focus on the greatest desire she had while they were creating her armor.

Humans were many things, but a Soul Weapon could only embody one. A single desire, something that represented the wielder, made manifest. And Olive had taken that to heart.

A lot had changed since she’d joined the Menagerie. Since she’d failed her previous team. Since she’d failed herself.

So, when the time had come to decide on exactly what she wanted her Soul Weapon to focus on, she’d known without even a second of delay as to what she wanted to ask for.

Olive’s armor rippled as the waves of heat rolling off Caldera’s head seemed to abate — but the weapon hadn’t gotten any colder. If anything, its heat was only intensifying as more lava bubbled up from its head.

It was her armor that had changed.

“What kind of weapon is that?” Vale demanded, his eyes locked on Caldera in awe. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Are you really telling me that this is your main weapon? A hammer? What, was the sword just your way to determine our strength?”

He actually sounded excited about that. Vale was a warrior through and through. Olive couldn’t help but feeling a tiny flicker of embarrassment at that. She would have loved to claim that his words were right. If he’d been more of an asshole, she would have.

But she couldn’t.

“No,” Olive said through a small laugh. She rather liked Vale. There was no reason to lie to him. “To be honest, I’ve never used a hammer in my life.”

“What?” Vale’s tone shifted to confusion. “Then why do you have a thing like that? Are you a swordswoman or not?”

“What do you think the most important trait for a warrior to have is?” Olive asked, grabbing onto Caldera with both hands and lowering her stance. Her armor continued to adapt, to shift. With every passing second, the weapon felt more appropriate in her hands.

“Vale,” Rime said, his voice carrying a warning note. “Don’t forget our mission. Necrohammer needs us to win this. You can't get distracted. I can’t take her alone at this point. Her equipment definitely isn’t what we thought it was.”

“Damn it,” Vale said. He hesitated for a moment before he blew out a sharp breath, then nodded. “Okay. Come on. Let’s end this. No holding back. Use everything you’ve got. We have to wrap things before we waste too much energy. But if we lose…”

“Not possible,” Rime said. “We can’t allow that to happen. You know what’s at stake.”

A thin smile crossed Olive’s lips. She was thinking the exact same thing. This wasn’t a fight she could afford to lose.

“I know too well,” Vale said.

Rime’s armor rippled. Two black wings exploded from his back in a roar of crackling fire. He dropped to all fours, and his fingers dug through the ground at his feet as if it was liquid rather than solid stone.

It looked like Caldera wasn’t the only weapon that could reach molten-magma levels of heat.

Olive set her stance. She’d never used Caldera before, but she could feel the weapon’s eagerness to fight. Even though she wasn’t its true wielder, Caldera would make up the difference. And for some reason… something told Olive that the weapon liked that.

After all, if it had been Arwin wielding it, this wouldn’t have been much of a fight at all. That thought had passed fully through her mind before she realized that it hadn’t been hers. It was as if it had come from Caldera itself.

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This thing is a bit bloodthirsty, isn’t it?

Rime’s wings snapped down and he exploded into motion, streaking through the air toward her. The heat emendating from him was immense — but it crashed against Olive’s armor and rolled past her like nothing more than hot air.

She swung Caldera as he approached. The massive hammer streaked through the air at a deceptively fast speed. Rime’s wings flapped and he bounded straight over Olive, vaulting to land behind her.

He was moving again before his feet even touched the ground, extending a flame-covered hand to grab her by the shoulder.

Vale charged as well, sprinting toward Olive while she was distracted by the other Blackguard. If Olive made to dodge away from Rime, Vale would be upon her before she could try to counterattack.

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It was clear they planned to juggle her attention between them until an opening opened in her defenses. That wasn’t a winning game — and so Olive did the only thing neither of them expected.

She didn’t dodge.

Rime’s hand slammed down into her shoulder. Any surprise the man might have felt evaporated instantly. He was far too well trained to be caught off guard by what seemed to be a lucky strike. Fire roared in Olive’s face as Rime’s fingers tightened around her shoulder plate, trying to melt the armor right off her body.

It didn’t so much as warp.

“Surprise,” Olive said.

Then she swung Caldera, pouring the might of [Hundredfold Blade] into the weapon. With the ability and the full power of her cursed arm backing the swing, Caldera screamed through the air like a comet.

There was a thundering crash as the hammer struck Rime straight in the chest. The man was lifted off his feet and sent hurtling back, denied so much as a chance to let out a surprised cry.

He struck the ground nearly a dozen paces from Olive, bouncing once before skidding several feet and nearly sliding straight off the arena. Rime barely managed to dig his fingers into the ground in time to save himself from falling off.

The warrior staggered to his feet as gouts of fire sputtered off his armor. There was a massive dent in the center of his chest. The armor clearly had some leeway, because if there hadn’t been, his ribcage would have already been crushed.

Holy shit. This thing hits like a charging bull.

Olive’s eyes snapped to Vale. He was already upon her. The time it had taken her to strike Rime had left her wide open. She tried to twist back in time, but the man was too fast.

He brough this sword down for her side in a blur. The weapon slammed into Olive’s armor, sending vibrations tearing through her entire body. She stumbled back, but the vibrations didn’t stop.

It was like she’d been rung like a bell. Her teeth clattered against each with such intensity that they threatened to shatter. Waves of energy tore through Olive’s armor as they tried to literally rip her apart. It took everything she had just to hold onto Caldera.

“Siren’s ultimate strength,” Vale said, his words muted and distant to Olive’s ringing ears. “She can make any armor sing like the world’s worst orchestra. You’re out of the fight, lass. There’s…”

Vale trailed off.

The ringing in Olive’s ears faded. Her senses begun to adjust themselves, and the tremors rocking her begun to recede. She rolled her neck and her grip grew firm once more.

“How?” Vale whispered. “I still feel the magic in you! How are you moving?”

“You never answered my question, so I guess I’ll answer it myself,” Olive said. “The strongest ability a warrior has is the one to change. Being the fastest, the strongest, none of that matters. A warrior needs to be able to handle any situation. Even the greatest swordsman can be brought low if they come across an enemy that can’t be cut. That’s what I realized. A truly great warrior has to be able to adapt.”

And that’s exactly what my soul weapon helps me do.

The humming vibrations tearing through Olive’s body were nothing more than a distracting buzz now. She hoisted Caldera once more.

“We’ll see just how much you can adapt, then,” Vale said. He shifted his stance. Behind him, Rime brought his wings down and exploded into motion, charging once more—

A brilliant chime tore through the arena with the intensity of a thunderous lightning strike.

The fire covering Rime’s armor sputtered out. He hit the ground in a whirl of flailing limbs, and the final remnants of the ringing in Olive’s ears evaporated. The magic humming from Vale’s armor vanished and the lights filling his eyes snuffed out.

Maeve had finally finished the magic she’d been weaving.

“No!” Vale whispered. “Impossible!”

“Surrender?” Olive suggested as Rime struggled to rise under the weight of his now useless equipment. She had absolutely no idea how Maeve had managed to completely deactivate their equipment… and she wasn’t about to press on the matter. There was no guarantee it would last long. “I don’t think that armor is going to do you much good anymore. One chance. Call it courtesy.”

“Can’t do that, Miss.” Vale let out a dry laugh. Then he raised his sword, his arms trembling under its weight. The weapon had clearly been enchanted to be far lighter than it actually was.

Then he charged.

Olive swung Caldera.

It smashed right through Vale’s sword, sending the weapon careening to the side, and continued straight into his chest. The force of the blow drove him to the ground, shattering the stone beneath him.

Vale’s chestplate cracked and shattered. He let out a wheeze as the air was blasted from his lungs, but Olive had held the blow back enough to avoid literally ripping the man in half. Her arm would not claim any more lives — not ones that she did not deign to feed it.

The tides of the battle turned instantly. There was a thud to Olive’s side as Elias used the third Blackguard’s surprise to his advantage, shoving the man off the arena edge and sending him out of bounds.

Olive lifted Caldera. There was only one person left to deal with, and he could barely even stand.

“The… dagger,” Vale wheezed from the ground.

She glanced down at Vale in confusion. The man was clawing at the side of his armor, where the hilt of a blade just barely protruded from its sheath

“Idiot. You’re out of the fight,” Olive said. “Stay down.”

“No. Take… the dagger,” Vale hissed. He let out a bloody cough — he was definitely going to need some very urgent attention from the healers — but the man stared up at her with an intent, determined gaze that wouldn’t let her eyes drift from it. “Trust me. You’ll need it.”

Elias streaked across the arena. He drove his shoulder into Rime’s chest, sending the other man crashing to the ground. Before Rime could even try to muster any final resistance, Elias’ dagger was at his throat.

At the edge of the arena, Necrohammer turned. He didn’t even wait to watch the end of the fight. The smith just quietly walked back to his room.

Olive lowered Caldera. She hesitated for a moment. Then she reached down to Vale’s side and pulled the dagger free from its sheath.

Vale’s lips twitched in a grin. “Don’t… lose.”

Then his head thunked back to the stone, consciousness leaving his eyes.

Olive turned to call for healers, but they were already there. They stripped Vale from his armor and immediately ferried him off for proper treatment.

“The fight is over!” Kraven roared, his voice barely any louder than the screaming crowd. “Phoenix Circle takes the victory! What a fight! Who would have thought their support had such an incredible ability?”

Olive barely heard him, and that was only half because she’d tuned the idiot out. Her focus was entirely on the seemingly plain dagger in her hand. It didn’t look like anything special.

I don’t get it. Why would Vale want me to take this thing so badly?